In Elia Kazan’s1989 autobiography he reflects toward the end of the book on the pain of failure and missed opportunity in show-biz. Of course he manages to work Orson Welles into the story, bemoaning the lost promise blah blah blah.Then he bitchily references a tale of Welles keeping a whole
There are very few Sidney Lumet movies I haven’t seen–and that’s saying a lot since he made so many movies. One is something called ‘Lovin’ Molly’ which he squeezed in between ‘Serpico’ and “Murder On The Orient Express’. (In his book ‘Making Movies’ he mentions in passing that he did
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adSl_tRzrEQ In tribute to Catherine O’Hara (and in memory of John Candy, Harold Ramis and Joe Flahrerty) here is an SCTV parody of the Samuel Z. Arkoff women-in-prison genre ‘Broads Behind Bars’. Every second of this sketch is brilliant, targeted satire. They even get the low-rent look right. Just in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHOmBV4js_Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EMfA5_tm8Y My go-to cartoon characters as a kid were Bugs/Daffy/Porgy (Warner Brothers) and Charlie Brown/Lucy/Snoopy/Linus Charles M. Schultz). Everything else was the bunk. I’ve written before–rather recently in fact–about my loathing for all things Disney. Ditto Hanna-Barbara and their cheap, flat animation which did nothing to enhance their cheap, flat
Here’s a clip of the majestic comedy duo Bob and Ray (Elliot and Goulding were their surnames) from what appears to be a mid 1970s Johnny Carson show. I can’t explain the condition of Johnny’s jacket in the intro but it doesn’t really matter. This is one of my favorite
I always enjoy discovering period industrial films explaining then cutting-edge technologies–how to process Technicolor film, how to record and press 78 RPM records etc. Above I’ve posted a 1937 mini-doc explaining the process by which a radio show transmits from the studio to homes across the country. It’s quite niftily
During John Huston’s ‘Lord Of The Manor’ Ireland years (mid-1950s to mid-1970s roughly) he was known locally as John Huston, MFH. Those letters stood for ‘Master of the Fox Hunt’, a loathsome tradition that he was happy to help perpetrate. Above is a short (five minute) doc showing the great
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxYSVO78Edchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAFLS-jyti4 Yesterday I posted about pre-code portrayals of gay men in the movies and cartoons of the era. The usual characterization was of what was commonly known as a ‘sissy’ or ‘pansy’. Which brings us to the once popular and now utterly obscure bandleader Dick Rich. Above I’ve posted two
Before the Production Code came along in 1933 and imposed strict moral policing on all matters, homosexuality was often to be found in movies. The Pre-Code era generally preferred to offer up the ‘pansy’ or ‘sissy’ in a playful, caricature-ish way. Somehow this doesn’t seem now to be patronizing–at least
‘Alibi’, directed by Roland West and starring Chester Morris, was released on April 8th, 1929 and instantly was recognized as an unusually sophisticated piece of work. I’ve posted the whole film above but unless you’re a serious 20s/Talkies geek you’re likely not to watch more than the first few minutes.